


Lost To a Portal

by Bookwormpride



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angella is going to adopt Catra, Bullshit Science, Glimmers POVs aren't linear, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know anything about portal theories y'all, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, It doesn't have to be scientifically accurate if it's good angst, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Multi, POV Alternating, Portals, Raes clothes swapping custom lore, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:34:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25521454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookwormpride/pseuds/Bookwormpride
Summary: Glimmer misses her mom.Catra wants to make things right.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Angella & Catra (She-Ra), Angella & Glimmer (She-Ra), Angella/Micah (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 334





	Lost To a Portal

A few days after she was crowned queen the Brightmoon royal artists came to Glimmer with a proposal: a mural of her mother, next to the one of her father in the hall painted many years before.

They already had sketches of concepts for her to critique or approve, and they brought the folder to her where she sat on her moms- on _her_ throne, and stood at the foot of the steps expectantly while she flipped through the heavy paper pages.

“We wanted the style to match the one of King Micahs mural,” Aritsana, the lead artist, said. “But if you would prefer something different simply let us know, Your Majesty.”

Glimmer flinched at her new title, still unused to hearing it refer to her. It was too important, too big, she didn’t deserve the honor it held. She was just a princess. 

She was only _ever_ supposed to be just a princess. 

“Um, the style is fine,” She assured them uncertainly.

She looked through the sketches and couldn’t form a single opinion on any of them except that she wanted to stop looking at them. The roughly drawn lines forming the silhouette of her mom with various scenes around her made the deep ache in Glimmer's chest that had been there since they returned from the Fright Zone intensify. Her eyes stung, the paper beginning to quiver in her trembling hands.

She needed to say something. The royal artists were starting to shift nervously, exchanging worried glances between each other as their queen's silence wore on.

Glimmer stood, tucking the folder under her arm. “These are great,” She placated. “And I want to give this some careful consideration before I choose, so I will take this with me and… get back to you, when I’ve made my decision, thanks.”

Before they could say any more she teleported away, dumping the folder on the vanity in her room where it would stay closed but unable to be forgotten for several days until she found herself picking it up in the middle of the night after a fit of tears and sobs had overcome her, ruining any chance of sleep.

She sat on her window seat in the dim pink light from the sparkling orb she had created to float overhead and studied the art more closely. All the backgrounds, all the poses, all of her mom's features indistinct in the simplicity of the style.

How could she choose a single scene to capture Angellas entire life? How could she narrow down everything her mom did and everything she was into a painting?

Rounding the corner in the dark corridor Catra was surprised to see a familiar form sitting with her back to the wall outside the war room. So late at night she had expected to be the only one in Brightmoon awake except for the guards, and she certainly hadn’t thought she would find Glimmer sitting on the floor in a hallway. 

“Did you get lost on the way to your room?” Catra quipped lightheartedly, causing Glimmer to startle before she saw who it was.

Glimmer gave a smirk back. “Did Adora kick you out of bed?”

“After the night we had? Adora would have begged me to _stay_ ,” Catra joked, pretending to inspect her nails as she settled against the wall too.

“Eww, gross,” Glimmer laughed, playfully shoving Catras shoulder as the other snickered.

Now that she was closer, in the moonlight coming through the windows Catra noticed the tear tracks on Glimmer's cheeks, and the redness around her eyes. Her stomach dropped, something was wrong.

“Seriously, what are you doing up?” She asked, trying to keep her tone light despite her worry for her friend. She knew Glimmer wouldn’t appreciate being called out on crying.

“Nothing, just… couldn’t sleep,” Glimmer bluffed, leaning her head back against the wall. “You?”

“Nothing,” Catra lied as well. If Glimmer wouldn’t talk about what was keeping her up Catra certainly wasn’t about to bring up her own nightmares that forced her out of bed as though she could walk away from the images in her mind if she wandered the halls long enough.

They lapsed into silence. Out of the corner of her eye Catra watched Glimmer sigh and followed her gaze to the wall across from them where two portraits were painted in shades of purple and pink. 

She personally knew the figure in one: Micah, Glimmer's dad, who she had begrudgingly come to like with his humor so like his daughters and his unwavering acceptance and support for both Adora and her since they returned to Brightmoon after the defeat of Horde Prime - though she would never admit the fondness to him.

The other she had only ever seen in Horde propaganda or across a battlefield as Catra attacked her kingdom - Queen Angella. In the mural she was a lean, graceful figure, long hair and a cape flowing behind her, holding aloft a ball of sparkling light in each hand. Her wings were spread like she was about to take flight, stretching from one side of the painting to the other.

With a pang of guilt Catra wondered if that's why Glimmer had been crying.

She searched for something to say, and ended up awkwardly asking, “Were, um, were her wings really that big?”

Glimmer glanced at her with surprise like she had forgotten Catra was there, then her lips twitched into a sad smile. “Bigger,” She said softly in the quiet. “They were _huge_. When I was little she would carry me while she flew and… they were so powerful, you could feel how strong they were when they flapped. And they were _so_ pretty. I always wished I would grow wings like that,” She chuckled. “I even got my tattoos when I realized it wouldn’t happen.”

Catra bit the inside of her cheek, looking at the mural as Glimmer spoke. She had never wanted anything of Shadow Weavers, except maybe her power over others when she believed it would keep her safe. Even then, with Shadow Weaver dead, Catra wanted to get as far away from any association with her as possible.

But Glimmer still spoke of Angella with admiration and such obvious _love_ , and it made Catra ache with a familiar longing - a longing for a relationship she had never had, one she had dreamed of when she was little, and then forced herself to stop thinking about as she got older. 

With Shadow Weavers sacrifice Catra mourned the possibilities for ever having such a relationship that the sorceress took with her.

Catra hadn’t taken away a _possibility_ from Glimmer, she realized. She had taken someone she loved.

“I’m sorry,” Catra whispered. 

Apologies were still hard for her after a lifetime of refusing to give them, she would struggle to spit the words out, to swallow her pride and admit she had been wrong and face whatever consequences came her way, but this was one apology she had given time and time again, and would keep giving in the vain hope that it meant _something_ in the face of what she had done.

“I know,” Glimmer whispered back. She reached out and took Catras hand on her lap, squeezing it. “And you know I don’t hold it against you.”

“Yeah, all you princesses are stupidly forgiving like that,” Catra muttered, flashing Glimmer a grateful smile.

“And you’re lucky for it,” Glimmer snarked. She bumped Catras shoulder with hers. “I’m gonna head to bed, try to get some sleep too, okay?”

Catra nodded. “See you in the morning, Sparkles.”

It was in the same spot an hour later that Melog, closely followed by a half-asleep Adora, found her.

“Where’d you go?” Adora asked with a yawn as she sat and curled into Catras side while Melog draped themself over her lap. “I woke up and you were gone.”

Catra absentmindedly scratched behind Melogs ear, eliciting a content mew from the large cat. “I’m going to say something crazy,” She said.

“Nothing new about that,” Adora said with a sleepy smile.

Catra ignored the tease and took a deep breath. Once she said out loud the thought she had been mulling over in her head there was no taking it back.

At the same time she knew she couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t, if she kept giving apologies without action.

“I want to try to save Angella.”

* * *

Glimmer peered around the doorway into the throne room where her mom sat upon the floating seat, her voice carrying clearly across the room. Below her, flanked by the General, stood a young satyr woman with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at the floor with a haughty expression as Angella spoke to her. 

“...Will help repair the damage you did to Phyllos shop,” Angella was saying. “And then you will spend five months in Thaymor with the Cropper family as a farm hand. They will report back to me with updates on your work and behavior. Do you understand?”

“Yes, _Your Highness_ ,” The satyr responded sarcastically, giving an overdramatic, deep bow.

Glimmer recognized the look on her moms face as the same one she got when sending Glimmer to time out. 

Angella adjourned the meeting and the woman was dismissed, led away by the General. Glimmer stepped out from the doorway, receiving a smile from her mom as she ran towards the throne, teleporting to the top step halfway across the room.

“I didn’t know criminal sentencing was an interest of yours,” Angella chuckled as she lifted Glimmer onto her lap. “Were you watching this whole time?”

Glimmer squirmed about until she found a comfortable position on her mom's legs. “Why’d you send that girl to a farm?” She asked. “Didn’t she do something bad? She should be in _biiig_ trouble!”

“She _is_ in trouble,” Angella agreed, combing her fingers through Glimmer's mess of hair in an attempt to smooth it. “And she’s going to have to fix what she did. It’s going to be a lot of hard work, and five months is a long time to think about things, don’t you agree?”

Glimmer shrugged. “What’s she gonna think about?”

“Well,” Angella said thoughtfully. “ _Hopefully_ she’ll think about why she felt the need to damage Phyllos bakery, and the hurt her actions have caused, and I think the Croppers farm will be a good place for her to do that.”

“Why?”

“Because the Croppers are good people. They will treat her with respect and kindness, and show her how to be kind too,” Angella explained patiently. “She can learn from them.”

Glimmer was confused. She had never thought that being kind was something you could learn, only something you were or weren’t. She was kind, her mom was kind, the Brightmoon staff were kind. The kids that ignored her or told her she was weird when she tried to be friends with them were mean. Why would anyone be mean if they didn’t have to be?

Seeing her struggling with the concept, Angella elaborated, “You never know why someone hurts other people, Glimmer, but a lot of the time it’s because they themselves are hurt, and they don’t know how to get better. Sometimes they need to be shown another way, and be given a chance to change. That is what I’m giving her, a chance to change with people who will help her along the way, so that maybe she won’t hurt anyone else in the future.”

Glimmer never did see the satyr woman brought before her mom again. She wondered if that’s because she had learned to be kind like her mom said she could.

_The portal will confuse you, you must remember what you see in it is not reality,_ Hordak had said. _Spend too long inside and you risk forgetting you’re in a portal at all._

As she walked up to a perfect replica of Brightmoon, Catra believed it. Other than the lack of people around as she approached the entrance she could have easily believed she was home and not inside a portal right then.

After telling Adora her desire to rescue Angella they had gone to Entrapta and Hordak - the creators of the original portal that Angella had been lost in - for help. In just a handful of weeks they had a portal machine built, and, with the planet out of Despondos, safe for use.

Catra had insisted to Adora that they keep their mission between the four of them. The last thing she wanted was to let Glimmer or Bow or anyone else down if she didn’t succeed.

So with Entrapta and Hordak running the machine from their lab in Dryl, and Adora staying behind in case anything went wrong, Catra travelled into the portal alone.

Stepping through the main entrance to the castle and into the throne room Catra discovered the exact person she was looking for. Angella, sitting on the floating gold steps up to the throne in a very unmajestic manner that clashed with her regal appearance, her head propped up in her hand and a distant look in her eye. She didn’t seem to notice Catras presence even as she got closer, her bare feet patting on the marble floor with every step.

“Uh, Queen Angella?” Catra called uncertainly.

Angellas eyes flicked to her, and she looked her up and down with a frown. “Force Captain Catra, yes?” She said flatly. Despite the cold tone Catra, having never heard her voice before, was surprised in finding it to be melodic and placid and lacking the harshness she expected from someone as high ranking as a queen.

“It’s just Catra, actually, ma’am,” Catra corrected. She straightened her shoulders with determination. “I’m here to bring you home.”

That earned her a single raised eyebrow. “You are, are you? I’ll admit I am not very scientifically inclined but as I understood it portals were unable to be opened on Etheria without causing catastrophic damage.”

“They weren’t,” She said, glad to hear that Angella seemed to still be aware she was in a portal. “But Etheria is out of Despondos now, portals are safe, so, you can leave.”

“Even if that is true, I am to believe _you_ would be here to bring me out?” Angella challenged. “If I remember correctly you were the Force Captain who kidnapped my daughter and her best friend from Princess Prom,” Catra shrunk back as Angella stood from her seat on the stairs and took a step towards her. “Attacked my kingdom, hurt Adora time and time again-”

Catra flinched. 

“How do I know you won’t lead me to my death?” Angella asked, chin raised, looking down her nose at Catra. “How do I know you aren’t taking me out only to use as a bargaining chip against the rebellion?”

“I’m not with the Horde any more, there _is_ no Horde,” Catra said, shaking her head. ‘The war is over. The rebellion won. Glimmer is my friend and I want to bring you back for her, and Micah, they miss you so much-”

Angella gave a humorless laugh. “There’s an error in your story,” She smiled condescendingly. “My husband Micah has been dead for many years.”

“No, _listen_ ,” Catra pleaded, a sinking feeling in her chest. “He’s not, he wasn’t-”

“And why would my daughter _ever_ trust _you_? After everything you’ve done and-”

“I don’t know, okay?!” Catra shouted. She had been prepared for Angella to be suspicious, for questions, even accusations, but having her mistakes thrown in her face hurt nonetheless, especially when they were the very ones that she hated herself for. “I don’t know why any of them trust me, I know _you_ have no reason to trust me, but I am trying to do something good, I’m trying to make this right because it’s one of the few things I’ve done that I can _fix_.”

“Glimmer misses you,” She continued. “And I hate seeing her sad because it does _not_ suit her, and Micah - he was on Beast Island, he hates that he didn’t get home in time to see you again, and Adora… you meant a lot to her, I don’t get it, but you did, and apparently you’re the reason she didn’t get stuck in a portal herself and if that had happened-” Catra took a shaking breath, imagining the scenario she had been avoiding thinking about for some time. “If that had happened, I don’t… I don’t know what I would have…”

Catras voice trailed off and she wrapped her arms around herself. She wished Melog was there, the cat-like creature had a way of calming her down whenever her emotions ran high, but she forced herself to take a few deep breaths and settle herself on her own.

Angella had gone silent, watching Catras outburst with an unreadable expression. Once she felt calmer, Catra opened her mouth to apologize for yelling, when the queen spoke first. “Alright.”

Catra blinked. “What?”

“The last time I gave a Horde soldier a chance it proved to be one of the best decisions I ever made.” She locked Catra in a piercing gaze. “I was right to trust Adora,” She said. “And I hope I am right to trust you now.”

* * *

Glimmer perked up as the door to her bedroom opened, her face breaking into a grin at the same time as her stomach filled with butterflies when Bow stepped inside, smiling back at her.

“Hey ba-”

He was cut off as she teleported to him, grabbing him by the arm and teleporting them back to the window seat. “Sit!” She ordered.

Another quick pop to her closet and back and she sat beside him, their knees bumping as she turned herself to face him.

“What’s going on?” He asked slowly, watching her with amusement.

She took a deep inhale with a sharp exhale to settle her nerves. “I know we haven’t been together very long,” She started in a rush. “But we’ve also known each other since we were like, eight, so I don’t think this is too soon.”

She opened her right hand between them, revealing a white raindrop shaped pearl earring, the twin to the one she wore, resting in her palm.

Bow looked at the earring with awe. “Glimmer…”

“I want you to have this,” Glimmer said, her tone more serious than before. “If… if you want it.”

The seconds it took for Bow to answer were agonizing as she started to wonder if maybe it _was_ , in fact, too soon for the swapping of personal belongings - a recognition of seriousness in their relationship, a symbol of commitment to each other. 

“Are you sure?” He asked, tearing his eyes away from the piece of jewelry to meet Glimmers. “It was your moms… Are you sure _I_ should have it?”

The revelation of the reason for his hesitation made Glimmer laugh with shock and relief. “Bow, my mom _adored_ you!” She reminded him. “She would be so happy if she was here, and I know she wouldn’t mind me giving this to you! She probably would have been asking when I was going to, like, a week after we got together, actually…”

Bow breathed a laugh. “Yeah, I think she was more eager for us to date then we were,” He said. He laid his hand over Glimmer's open one, enclosing the earring between their palms. “I’ll take good care of it, I promise.”

Glimmer's face lit up. “So is that a yes?” She gasped.

“Of course,” He agreed.

She couldn’t stop a small squeal from spilling forth as she bounced onto her knees and grabbed his face between her hands, kissing him. She could feel his smile against her mouth, his hand coming up to rest on her back, steadying her. 

When they parted he looked thoughtful. “Now I have to think of something to give you… And get my ear pierced.”

“I can pierce it for you!” She offered.

Bow gave an uneasy laugh. “Haha, yeah... I’m not letting you near my ear with a needle.” He shook his head.

Glimmer was so happy she couldn’t even really be offended.

Catra wondered if the portal picked up on the awkwardness between her and Angella and made the Whispering Woods bigger just to torture her, or if the awkwardness itself made the seconds seem to drag on as they trudged through the forest.

When she had entered the portal in Dryl she had come out the other side of the gateway in an exact replica of the same lab she had just departed from, only empty, as if she had simply stepped through a doorway. Entrapta and Hordak had explained that really, the exit of the portal was not in any particular location once inside, but that it would be easiest to return to if she envisioned it in a set spot.

Catra now wished she had envisioned the portal somewhere closer, because getting back to Dryl from Brightmoon was starting to look like it was going to be a long, uncomfortable journey.

She kept stealing glimpses at the queen as they walked side by side. She had all the characteristics from the Hordes propaganda posters and the paintings throughout Brightmoon - the long flowing hair, the gems adorning her forehead and chest, wings folded against her back.

But all the images of her that she had seen hadn’t captured the way Angella held herself with a poise, a natural _confidence_ Catra once would have envied, or the translucence of her wings that glistened in mesmerizing pastel colors, or how she looked like her daughter yet their beauties were so vastly different.

A flicker of worry crossed Angellas face as Catra watched, but was gone nearly as quickly as it appeared as she fixed her expression back to neutral, and asked, “You say the war is over. How long have I been gone?”

“About two years,” Catra answered with as much gentleness as she could give to what must be jarring information.

She heard Angella let out a breath.

“How… how is Glimmer?” She asked, for the first time since they left the fake Brightmoon Angella looked at her full on. “She must have been made queen, is she…” She didn’t finish, but Catra understood the unspoken question: _is she doing a good job?_

“I mean, I don’t know much about _queenly, ruling_ stuff, but Brightmoon hasn’t burned to the ground and no one’s declared another war yet,” Catra laughed at her own joke, then realizing Angella hadn’t appreciated her humor, sobered. “She’s fine, everyone likes her and she’s really good at, like, bossing people around. Plus, she led the negotiations for a peace treaty with the remains of the Horde and it’s a pretty sweet deal for everyone. She gives good speeches too, if you buy into all that cheesy crap about working together and stuff.”

Angella gave a small smile.

There was a flash of movement through the trees and foliage in front of them. Catra looked in time to see the tail end of a pink skirt and sparkles trailing behind the fleeting figure. She heard a little kids laugh.

 _The portal can be influenced by thought and emotion_ , Entrapta had warned Catra before she left. _You have to keep a level head, and make sure Angella does too!_

Catra saw Angella staring after the illusion and hurriedly continued, hoping to keep her attention. “I’m surprised that her and Bow can stop making kissy faces at each other long enough for her to get anything done, though,” She rolled her eyes. She could almost hear Glimmer's voice in her head teasing her about being one to talk considering what her and Adora were like...

Angella regarded Catra with a new enthusiasm. “Are they… courting?”

Catra snorted. “If that’s what you wanna call what they’re doing.”

Angella clapped her hands together in front of her chest, giving a gasp. “Oh!” She exclaimed, excited, her wings puffing out just slightly. Catra nearly stopped in her tracks, taken aback by the reaction.

Angellas cheeks went pink when she noticed and she cleared her throat, composing herself, but the smile didn’t leave her lips. “I am… very happy for them,” She explained. “I always believed there could grow to be feelings there, and Bow is a good influence on Glimmer, he keeps her grounded, and she’s happier when she’s with him.”

“Yeah, she is,” Catra agreed slowly, turning her face away from Angellas sight as something heavy settled in her chest. Of all the reasons for Angella to approve of Bow - his skill in battle, his intelligence, his potential qualities for a future king - she hadn’t expected the fact that he made Glimmer happy to be a factor.

 _I see you and Catra are close again, do you really think that's wise?_ She remembered hearing Shadow Weavers' hushed voice ask behind her, her words and disapproving tone stripping away the lingering warmth Catra felt from laughing with Adora only moments prior.

 _If you ever do anything to jeopardize her future I will dispose of you myself_ , the same voice had threatened so many years before, twisting her friendship with Adora from something full of abundant joy and comfort in the midst of the Fright Zone into something dangerous and wrong.

Catra shook the thought from her mind. 

_Level head_ , she reminded herself sternly, and decidedly ignored the sudden shadows creeping through the trees out of the corner of her eyes.

* * *

Glimmer cringed as the infirmary door banged open. Only one person in Brightmoon would be so disruptive of a place of healing, and even then, only for one reason.

“What happened?” Angella demanded, storming across the room to the cot where Glimmer sat while a medic tended to her shoulder. “I thought I made myself clear, Glimmer, in and out, you were not supposed to fight the Horde!”

Glimmer sighed, wishing the medic had given her something to knock her out just so she could have avoided her moms rage. “ _They_ attacked _us_ ,” Glimmer argued. “What was I supposed to do? Let them hurt the villagers?”

“You should have called for backup!” Her mom said. She closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. When she spoke again her tone had a kind of forced evenness. “This was your only your third mission, Glimmer, you don’t have enough experience for battle,” She reminded her. “What is wrong with your shoulder?”

“I got hit by a stun baton,” Glimmer muttered, already bracing herself for her mom's reaction.

“ _A stun baton_?” Angella cried. “Do you know the damage an electrical blast could have done to you if it had struck somewhere else? If it had got you in the chest? Or the head?”

“But it didn’t!” Glimmer protested, but before she could say more she cut off in a hiss as the medic began to dab more alcohol on the burn. She screwed her eyes shut, hunching in on herself and wishing her mom wasn’t there - not then, not when Glimmer was injured and in pain and still shaken from the fight. She didn’t want her to see her like this and think she was weak, that she wasn’t ready for missions just when she had _finally_ agreed to let Glimmer go-

Her eyes snapped open when she felt a hand slip into hers, looking up to find her mom had closed the distance between them and now stood at her side, any trace of anger gone from her face and replaced with tenderness and concern.

Glimmer blinked back tears, her mom's comfort bringing with it the safety to feel fully how _terrified_ she had really been all afternoon.

Angella stayed there as the medic finished their work and bandaged her shoulder, her thumb rubbing over the back of Glimmer's hand when she winced, murmuring encouragement. She didn’t bring up Glimmer's disobedience again while in the infirmary, and likewise didn’t mention what happened in the infirmary afterwards, almost as if separating herself into two different roles - Queen, and mother.

Filling Angella in on what she had missed while trapped between realities seemed like a good way to pass the time, and to convince her that Catra really was on their side with details only someone telling the truth would have, until she got to her time on Horde Primes ship, and realized she probably should have left the job to Glimmer.

“When he started reaching for Glimmer, I just- I- after he _threw_ Hordak away like that, I knew he-” Catras breath was coming in short puffs like she couldn’t fully fill her lungs. She looked down to see that her hands were shaking.

She needed to calm down. The bright field they had been strolling through had become a damp, foggy grey landscape, unidentifiable barriers rising around them that could have been cliffs or buildings with paths between them leading off in every direction.

The portal was reacting to her turmoil.

She was about to move on with her recount, find something lighter to talk about and refocus on getting to Dryl, when a cry rang out through the misty air, high pitched and full of distress, and completely unfamiliar to Catra - but clearly not to Angella. The queen froze, her head whipping around for the source of the cry with wide eyed panic.

“Mommy!” The child's voice wailed, bouncing off the surfaces around them making it impossible to tell what direction it came from.

Understanding came to her. It wasn’t Catras emotions affecting the portal, it was _Angellas_.

“It’s not real,” Catra said. Angella startled and looked at Catra, her gaze unfocused. She repeated, “It’s not real, the portal is messing with us.”

Catra watched Angellas expression cycle through a dozen different emotions, only a handful of which she recognized. In the distance there was another cry. 

“I wasn’t _there_ ,” Angella whispered brokenly.

“Glimmer is okay, she’s home in Brightmoon,” Catra promised. “You have to focus on getting out of here.”

Catra thought for a moment that Angella wouldn’t listen and that she would have to drag her the rest of the way - sure not to be an easy feat considering the size difference and the bulkiness of her wings but not something Catra wouldn’t attempt if it came down to it - then Angella visibility gulped, and steeled herself. With stiff steps she made her way to Catras' side.

As they continued through the bleak scenery in hopes of coming out the other side Catra couldn’t stop glancing at Angellas haunted face, shaken by the visceral reaction so foreign to her, as if _not_ comforting her daughter was unheard of to the queen. She thought of the Force Captain overseeing their simulation telling her six year old self to be faster next time after a blast from a bot left her twitching on the ground, of her and Adora tending to their own scrapes and bruises in the privacy of a dim storage closet, of biting her lip to keep from crying under a disgusted glare from Shadow Weaver as if the tears were an insult to her personally.

Beside her, Angella closed her eyes upon hearing another call for ‘mommy,’ like the sound physically hurt her to ignore. 

* * *

Glimmer couldn’t remember the last time she had spent an evening with her mom on her own volition, but with Adora turning in early that night, and Bow gone to… wherever he went when he wasn’t at Brightmoon, Glimmer had made up a pot of tea - rosehip, her moms favorite - and sought her out.

She had found her in her office, and while joking about her surprise that Glimmer had come to _her_ for company had quickly put down the book she had been reading to join her on the couch. They talked and laughed and Glimmer was reminded that maybe, _sometimes,_ her mom could be fun.

“... So we’re gonna have to tell Adora some _real_ ghost stories when Bow gets back because Shadow Weaver was _not_ very creative,” Glimmer grumbled after telling her of the Best Friend Squads mission earlier that week. “‘ _The undead princess_ ,’” she rolled her eyes with amusement.

“Yes, that could just be you in the morning,” Angella said, taking a sip from her cup with a teasing smirk.

“Hey!” Glimmer cried indignantly.

As their laughter settled and Glimmer finished the last of her tea she put the cup down on the tray and sighed, leaning against her mom's shoulder, suddenly quiet.

“Is everything alright?” Angella asked, wrapping an arm around Glimmers back.

“Yeah,” Glimmer said. “It's just… whenever Adora talks about Shadow Weaver, and growing up in the Horde, it’s like, she doesn’t even realize how... _abnormal-_ how... _messed up_ it was!” She exclaimed, throwing her hands out in front of her to emphasize her point.

Angellas hand absently stroked Glimmer's hair. “It was all she had ever known,” She said solemnly.

“She learned how to throw a punch at _five years old_!” Glimmer said. “And the only stories she knows are scary, like, they didn’t even _have_ nice stories in the Horde just- _wham_ , terror! And Shadow Weaver was _like_ her mom but she never even hugged her, literally one time after I hugged you Adora was like ‘isn’t your mom worried about people thinking she’s weak?’ How awful is that?!” 

Glimmer huffed, relaxing against Angellas side. When she spoke again she was more subdued. “Once she said that Shadow Weaver told her she found her when she was a baby… she could have been found by _anyone_ , but she was found by the Horde. It’s just so unfair.”

“It is,” Angella agreed softly. “And nothing can change her past with the Horde or the things they did to her, but what matters is that she’s here _now_ , and can have the life she deserved to have all along. Even in the time she’s been here I’ve noticed a change in her, Glimmer. I’m sure in no small part because of you.”

Glimmer looked up to see her mom smiling proudly at her, and blushed, quickly turning away again. “I hope so,” She muttered.

She knew she would forget it by the next time they were fighting about a mission or curfew, but at that moment Glimmer felt incredibly grateful that she had the mom she did, and that unlike Adora and the other Horde cadets, she had grown up surrounded by love.

They were back on course, and Catra was starting to recognize the illusory towns they passed as ones near Dryl, nestled in the valleys between purple tinged mountain ranges. With luck they would be at the castle soon. 

Hordak had said that time moved differently inside the portal, that minutes in the real world could seem like hours, or days could feel like seconds. Still, Catra hoped that they would be back in time for dinner, or at least before midnight; she could imagine the complaining Adora would do if she made her stay up waiting for her all night.

Once she snapped out of her funk Angella proved not to be bad company, she even had a sense of humor, which Catra hadn’t expected from the uptight-seeming queen.

“Adora looked like she was going to pee herself because you know how she gets when she thinks she’s in trouble? Even though we weren’t actually doing anything wrong,” Catra described breathlessly from laughing. “And Glimmer hasn’t realized he’s there so she cracks _another_ egg and she’s yelling that we should have got Bow out of bed, and Micah just stood there,” She howled. “I mean I guess what do you say when you walk into the kitchen to _that_?”

Angella had a hand to her chest, her head thrown back with completely undignified cackling, and Catra found herself grinning with something she refused to call _pride_ at having made her laugh so hard.

“So yeah, he gave us an impromptu cooking lesson, and I’m not letting Adora touch an electric mixer ever again,” Catra shook her head, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.

Angellas smile turned almost mischievous. “I’m glad to hear you and Adora have reconciled. She mentioned you often,” She said. “You were friends for a long time in the Horde, yes?” 

Catra felt her cheeks burn. Of course Glimmer and Bow teased Adoras long standing, obvious crush, and Catra had come to know that she had mattered as much to Adora as Adora did to her and that being separated hadn’t been easy for either of them, but it still always shocked her to her core to hear that Adora had thought about her at all in their time apart.

“Yeah,” Catra confirmed, nodding, once she recovered. “We knew each other since before I can remember, I don’t even know how we met. Shadow Weaver probably gave me to her as a toy or something,” She joked halfheartedly. “Adora was my best friend, she… she made everything about growing up in the Horde more bearable. She liked me even when no one else did, even when people thought she shouldn’t. She was the first person to ever believe in me.”

She gazed towards the mountains rising in the distance. The hills were beginning to take on an orange hue like they did at moonset, except the sky was strangely overcast, almost smoggy, even though it had been a clear blue only moments before.

Angella looked at her inquisitively. “Weren’t you also Shadow Weavers ward? I know she tends to take on… only a certain kind of child.”

“Kids with crazy magic? Yeah,” Catra snorted. She hadn’t been too surprised when she learned from Micah that Adora hadn’t been the first talented child she had held a fondness for, and from Glimmer that she had developed an interest in her as well. Shadow Weaver had always been terrible, nothing shocking about that. “I don’t know what happened for me to end up with _her_ , but she didn’t think I could unwrap a ration bar let alone be useful. She hated me, I hated her,” She shrugged with faux nonchalance.

Catra blinked. She could have sworn the mountains they were passing were the ones surrounding Dryl but now they hardly looked like landmass at all, too unnatural in shape, and she could see lights flickering in them.

“Are we going the right way?” Angella asked as if echoing Catras thoughts.

Catra didn’t answer, her tail swishing slowly behind her as she advanced. They rounded the path along the cliff face they had been walking and suddenly found themselves far from Dryl, in an entirely different and, to Catra, horribly familiar part of Etheria.

The Fright Zone.

 _The portal can be influenced by thought and emotion, you have to keep a level head_ , Catra heard Entrapta saying in her mind and internally cursed herself. So much for her self-described emotional discipline.

“Are we… in the Fright Zone?” Angella asked nervously.

“It doesn’t look like this anymore,” Catra said firmly, more to remind herself than for Angella. The land the Fright Zone had been built on had been returned to Scorpia, the rightful heir to the Scorpion Kingdom, and since then she had been taking down the ugly metal towers, piecing together what was left of the original castles ruins, and growing plants in the once lifeless soil with Perfumas help. There was still a lot to be done, but it hardly looked like the industrial city Catra had grown up in.

Actually, as she looked around from where they stood in the middle of the scrap yard, surrounded by piles of broken bots and rusting metal, Catra realized the mock Fright Zone wasn’t the one from a few years ago either, lacking several buildings that had gone up throughout her childhood, and the observation tower standing in a different spot then she was used to. She didn’t remember ever seeing this version of the Fright Zone.

“Come on,” She muttered to Angella. “Lets just keep moving.”

She turned. Her eyes landed on a cardboard box set at the base of a heap. A strange thing to find in the Fright Zone, cardboard wasn’t a material they typically had around.

From inside the box came a quiet mewl, followed by the fussy sounds of a baby working up to a true cry.

Catra felt her stomach drop, her breath hitching in her throat.

She stood frozen in place, staring at the cardboard box, too afraid to get closer yet too transfixed to walk away. A pair of small pointed, fluffy ears appeared from over the side.

She had no memory of this but she knew, instinctively, deep down as if it was etched in her very being, that this was a real moment in time. That this was something that had happened, likely around twenty two years ago.

Her fists clench at her side, claws digging into her palms. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears.

Angella appeared at her side. “Is that-”

Catra gave a harsh, humorless laugh. “Must be.” Her voice sounded too high, pitching strangely, wavering. “Look where we are,” She gestured wildly to the trash around them. “The _dump_! Right where I belong, right?”

She had never known how she came to be with the Horde. When asked, Shadow Weaver always said she couldn’t be bothered to recall how she ‘got stuck’ with her. Adora had been too young to remember. The time they hacked into the Horde servers and looked at their squads folders none of the cadets files mentioned anything about their origins.

Catra had accepted that she would never know. She told herself it didn’t matter, that however she ended up in the Horde didn’t change that she was there.

But sometimes, when she was much younger, she wondered about her parents - a concept completely unfathomable to her. She would wrack her brain to go far enough back for a memory of them, wondered if they were still out there, if they had _wanted_ her-

 _Unwanted right from the start_ , she thought bitterly.

Angella was looking at her sadly. “That’s not- _no_ ,” She shook her head, struggling for words. “I’m sure that- that your parents thought- they must have _believed-_ ”

“What? That they were _‘doing the right thing_?’” Catra snapped, knowing her anger was misdirected, and that under that anger was a deep hurt - a kind of self awareness that was proof of the progress she was making in her meditation sessions with Perfuma - but still unable to stop herself from lashing out at the nearest target. “They left me in the _Fright Zone_ , they left me to be raised by the _Horde_ , you don’t do that to someone you care about, you don’t _do that_ to someone you want to have a _good life_ ,” Her voice broke, and she looked down, feeling tears starting to gather in her eyes and desperately willing them not to fall. “Even if- even if they didn’t _want me_ , they didn’t have to put me _here_.”

In her peripheral she saw Angella reaching out a hand towards her, hesitating in the air halfway between them like she was unsure if she should go the rest of the way and make contact.

“Catra-”

Catra stepped out of her range. “Lets go, I’ve spent enough time here.”

She kept moving before Angella could say anything else, or worse, try to stop her.

* * *

Horde Prime was gone. Glimmer wished the nightmares that plagued her sleep would follow suit.

It was the third time that week she had woken up drenched in sweat and tears, her heart pounding in her chest and unable to catch her breath. This time, her throat was sore, likely, she knew, from screaming in her sleep.

Confirming her suspicion her bedroom door below flung open, and there stood her dad, two magic sigils already drawn in the air as he ran in - ‘fire’ and ‘blast’ a distant part of her identified - ready to fight whoever or whatever was hurting her.

He stopped short when he heard her ragged sobbing, looking up with confusion to her hanging bed.

“S-sorry,” She whimpered as he began to climb the floating stairs. “I d-didn’t-” She wanted to apologize for waking him and who knew who else in the castle, but she couldn’t get the words out past the lump in her throat.

“Shh, it’s alright,” He promised once at the top.

Kneeling on the bed he lightly laid a hand on her arm, his eyebrows knit together with concern and ducking down just enough to catch her eyes, offering comfort without forcing it on her.

She accepted gratefully. She turned and fell into his chest, great, heaving sobs overcoming her again as she pressed her face into his shoulder and he held her, strong arms around her back pulling her close.

 _Horde Primes smirk, images of her friends losing battle on a screen behind him, Spinerella with glowing green eyes and her own voice but_ wrong _, Catra standing at a control board being swarmed by clones and she unable to do anything, the sound of shattering glass as she threw down Primes most prized artifact, everything too green and white and pristine-_

“I want my mom,” Glimmer whined pathetically.

As soon as it slipped out Glimmer felt terrible. Her dad was _there_ , by some miracle he was _alive_ and _home_ and she finally got to know him. And he was trying so hard, to be close without coming off as too familiar, to be available without overbearing. He was sweet and funny and they had an easy connection almost immediately. She didn’t want him to think she didn’t appreciate his comfort, that he wasn’t enough or she didn’t love him.

But she felt like a scared little kid, helpless and small, and she just _really_ wanted her mom who had been there to comfort her her whole life.

“I know, Baby Girl,” He said sympathetically, holding her tighter.

There was a beat of silence, and then, “You know, your mom was always the best at calming you when you were a baby, I would try _everything_ to get you to stop crying, but as soon as I handed you to her it was like you’d never been upset in the first place,” Micah said.

With her head still on his shoulder she felt one hand leaving her back to reach down and pull up the blanket she had kicked to the end of her bed in all her thrashing. He began tucking it around her, a soft, grounding weight, shielding her from the rest of the world.

Like her mom's wings, she thought, and knew he was thinking too, remembering the way they would curl around whoever her mom held.

“And she would sing nursery rhymes to you,” He went on. “And let me tell you, your mom singing ‘Teeny Tiny Spider’ was something I never thought I’d see, but it made you laugh _every_ time without fail.”

Glimmer gave a startled giggle now, the idea of her mom singing silly kids songs so at odds with the sophisticated presence Glimmer had always known.

Micah smiled, reaching out to wipe the wetness from Glimmer's cheeks with the pads of his fingers and then brushing a piece of hair back behind her ear, his hand lingering to cup her face. “She would have done anything for you,” He said. “She loved you so much.”

Glimmer eyes filled with fresh tears. She quickly buried her face in her dad's chest again, feeling him press a kiss to the top of her head.

“She would probably yell at me if she heard me suggest it, but how about right now, we head down to the kitchen and get you some hot chocolate?” Micah asked, and Glimmer could hear the smile in his voice without looking up.

She lifted her head, sniffling, and nodded.

The soles of Catras feet hurt with the force of her steps on the rocky, dirt ground of the Fright Zone, but she didn’t slow down. She kept her eyes straight ahead like if she glared hard enough Dryl would materialize in front of her.

Angella with her long legs caught up with Catras' swift pace easily. Once she did, she asked, “Are you alright?”

“Just focus on Dryl so we can get out of here,” Catra said shortly, ignoring the question.

 _Dryl,_ Catra thought forcefully, trying to project her thoughts into the portals universe, _purple, Entrapta, maze, robots-_

_Cardboard box, trash, unwanted._

She flinched as the thought flashed through her mind unbidden, sucking in a breath.

Before she could refocus on her desired destination a grey-green hallway was rising up around them, nearly identical to every other hallway in the Horde except to someone who had grown up in them, used them as their playground and knew every nook and cranny and hiding spot - _especially_ the hiding spots.

Catra groaned at the unintended shift in landscape, but she knew that if they continued through the building they would come out near the north side of the Fright Zone and _maybe, hopefully_ , she pleaded in her head, they would find Dryl at the other end.

The training floor was the same as she remembered it, and as they continued deeper inside she could hear the normal sounds of chattering voices in the locker rooms, and the zap of lasers and fighting from the simulation arena, the whir of machinery all around.

They passed a hallway leading deeper into the Fright Zone and out of the corner of her eyes she saw the flash of a blonde ponytail, accompanied by two sets of squealing laughter, bright and happy, a sharp, almost defiant, contrast to the cold, dull walls the sound echoed between.

Catra couldn’t help giving a small smile. Despite everything she resented about growing up in the Horde, she could never hate the fact that it gave her Adora.

She wondered if Adora had been there when she was found. She imagined Shadow Weavers horror as the slightly older girl began playing with the half-kitten they found in the scrap yard.

‘ _Get away from that, Adora, it’s probably got disease_ ,’ she could picture the voice hissing with disgust.

“ _Catra_ ,” The same voice from her imagination called. Except she hadn’t imagined that one.

She tensed, the fur on her tail bristling as it curled close around her leg. She reminded herself that it wasn’t real, that she was inside a portal that was feeding off her emotions, that even if she hadn’t been Shadow Weaver was gone anyway.

Any rationale she had left was lost when she felt a heavy, silken tendril began to wrap around her ankle.

She yelped and kicked out at the feeling, and broke into a sprint as suddenly the hallway was darkened by shadow. She forgot about Angella behind her, about the mission, that she was an adult, that Shadow Weaver was _dead_.

She bared her teeth and hissed at a shadow that rose up in front of her, slashing through it with her claws, only to run into more a few steps further.

“Leave me alone!” She yelled furiously, cutting through the thick, undefined forms blocking her escape.

A tendril grabbed her leg again and she stumbled, falling to her hands and knees on the floor. 

Terror filled her, pushing the rage to secondary, as it always did when she would eventually lose the fight and be left, cornered and defenseless, subject to whatever punishment was to come.

She curled into herself, her eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the pain, the sparks of red electricity to dance over her skin, for the shadows to solidify and loom over her, the cold voice admonishing and cruel.

“Catra!” Came a different voice yelled from behind her. And then there were hands on her shoulders, pulling her from the tight ball she was in. Queen Angella, with worry written across her face, kneeling on the ground in front of her. “Catra, whatever this _is_ , it isn’t real,” she reminded her, eyes darting around to the writhing shadows surrounding them.

The sight of the queen snapped her back to reality. She took a gasping breath into her burning lungs, that quickly turned into too-quick pants. She wrapped her arms around herself as she fought back the bubbling sobs building in her throat, the fear from the familiar situation, of the expected suffering, crashing down on her all at once.

Angella let go of her shoulders and instead wrapped her arms around her in an embrace. Catra limply let herself be held, her forehead pressed into the crook of Angellas neck. 

“Shadow Weaver-” Catra whimpered.

“You’re safe, she’s not here,” Angella promised.

“She-” Catra choked around the words and tried again. “She _died_ to save _us_ , and I’m- I’m awful and- and ungrateful, j-just like she said I was, and,” She sobbed. “How can I still- when she-”

The arms around her tightened. “She hurt you,” Angella stated plainly. “And nothing she did in the end can change that. You deserved _better_.”

Catra felt something drape over her back and squinted open her eyes to see large, iridescent wings on either side of them. She felt covered, almost hidden, enclosed in their feathers. She smelled lavender, calming and irreconcilable with the Fright Zone around them, grounding her in the fact that it wasn’t true.

Angella caught her eye and held her gaze with a gentle firmness. “No matter what sacrifice Shadow Weaver made, you are _never_ obligated to forgive her,” She said fiercely. “Do you understand?”

Catras throat felt tight. She wanted to voice all the arguments that had eaten at her since her death - that Shadow Weaver raised her and maybe she was mean but she still took her in, that maybe in her twisted way she really did want the best for her, that Catra probably was as horrible as Shadow Weaver always told her she was and that was why she treated her the way she did. She wanted to say Angella didn’t understand, and that Shadow Weaver had helped them win the war so didn’t that alone deserve some kind of respect?

But Angella said it with such authority, such certainty, that it cut through all Catras doubts, leaving no room for rebuff. _She didn’t have to forgive her_ , as simple as that. 

So she didn’t say anything. She nodded her agreement and Angella squeezed her shoulder. Even as she calmed Catra had no desire to pull away from the embrace.

Then the world shook, and the Fright Zone began to break apart around them.

* * *

Glimmer had to repress a groan when her tracker pad went off.

She had been hoping to spend some time with her dad and Bow, the three of them currently sitting on a balcony overlooking Brightmoons gardens after finishing lunch, and she knew as soon as she answered the incoming call she would likely be dragged away for some official duty that required her immediate attention and would probably take the rest of the afternoon.

“Go ahead,” Micah encouraged when she shot him an apologetic look. “Being queen is a full time job, I remember.”

“Who is it?” Bow asked as she picked up the device.

“Entrapta?” She read the caller ID out loud with surprise. Entrapta rarely called her - she called Bow sometimes, or Adora when she wanted to ask about how Darla was doing since their return from space, but her and Glimmer didn’t have a lot in common and their conversations were usually short lived.

She swiped to answer the call, Entraptas face taking up the screen with how close she was holding the camera. In the background Glimmer could hear a strained groan - was that Adora?

“Glimmer!” Entrapta greeted with her usual cheerfulness. “Are you busy?”

Glimmer looked over the tracker pad at her dad and Bow. “Um… no,” She said hesitantly, if Entrapta needed her help she didn’t want to turn her away, but she also knew she was just as likely to be asking so she could launch into some theory she had that she would explain in depth while Glimmer was unable to get a word in edgewise. “What’s going on?”

Another grunt in the background. That was definitely Adora. “Well,” Entrapta drew out the word. “Catra went into a portal Hordak and I created _buuut..._ it collapsed.”

“What?!” Glimmer shouted, jumping to her feet so swiftly her chair shot out behind her.

“Adora opened another portal with the sword,” She continued, glancing over her shoulder, likely at Adora who had apparently _created a portal_. “But she doesn’t know how long she can keep it open and we need someone to go in and get Catra out quick, so are you available to come to Dryl?”

“I’ll be right there,” She promised, hanging up as she was left reeling trying to process what was going on.

Bow was already at her side, linking his arm through hers, but Glimmer hadn’t expected her dad to get up, rounding the table to join them.

“I could use some excitement, it’s been too quiet around here lately,” He joked with a grin, extending his hand for hers.

Entraptas lab was in chaos when they teleported in, tools and wires and scorched pieces of metal littered the floor, a workbench had been overturned, the computer screens against the far wall dark and cracked or completely shattered.

And in the middle of it all stood Adora in She-Ra form, holding her sword aloft over her head as she stood at the center of a swirling, glowing white vortex. Her face was flushed and beaded with sweat, her arms shaking. As Glimmer watched she gritted her teeth and gave a low, pained groan like the ones she had heard over the call.

“What happened?” Glimmer cried as soon as they materialized in the room. “Why is Catra in a portal?”

Entrapta, who had been wildly typing away on a data pad nearby with Hordak at her shoulder, jumped off the seat she had made of her hair. “The piece of First Ones tech we used to power the portal became overloaded and gave out! Catras been in there for nearly thirty hours, I can only assume the extended use was too much for the tech and-”

“She went in to rescue Angella!” Adora yelled, her voice strained with effort.

Glimmer was pretty sure her heart stopped. All the noise around her went silent for just a moment. When she tuned back in Bow and her dad were both hurling questions so fast none could get answered.

Adora screamed, her knees nearly giving out under her. She forced herself to keep standing. “I can’t hold this much longer!” She growled. “Glimmer you have to teleport in and get them out! _Now_!” 

“Right.” She steeled herself. She looked at Bow. “I’ll be right back.”

“Be careful,” He stressed.

She stood on tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips before letting another teleport take her away.

Catra hadn’t thought the queen could run. With those fancy wings she had figured Angella must fly whenever she needed to get somewhere fast, but as it turned out either she was much more fit then Catra had previously believed, or panic was a good motivator.

“What’s happening?” Angella cried as they sprinted through what was left of the Fright Zone - disconnected buildings and halls separated from anything else rising up in strange places, patches of red dirt floating amidst white light.

“I don’t know!” Catra admitted. “We just need to get out of here!”

Cliffs rose up around them. By some miracle they had made it to Dryl, the tips of the purple towers appearing over the top of the stoneface and the sky filling with the low, grey clouds that always hung over the kingdom.

Then she realized the sound of Angellas footfalls behind her had gone silent. She whirled around.

Angella wasn’t there.

“No,” She gasped, frantically scanning the area and not finding any trace of her. “No! Angella?” She called desperately.

She retraced their steps until she came upon a different path leading into the cliff about twenty yards back that definitely hadn’t been there before. She looked disparagingly at Dryl's Castle rising up in the distance, and, with a groan of frustration, took off down the new trail.

She came out the other end in Mystacor and skid to a halt. She cursed, wondering where she was even supposed to start looking. Mystacor was huge and unfamiliar to her, with dozens of buildings filled with _hundreds_ of rooms, and Angella could have been anywhere on the floating island.

The ground under Catras feet shook again, just a tremble this time, but enough to jolt her into action. She _wasn’t_ leaving without Angella.

She had only made it through two buildings and was sprinting down a hall lined with statues when a spot of pink caught her eye through the openair windows. She turned on her heel and there was Angella - sitting on a bench in the courtyard like they weren’t in a falling apart portal and she didn’t have a care in the world.

Catra leapt over the window ledge into the courtyard. “What are you _doing_?!” She yelled as she ran towards the bench. “We have to _go_!”

Angella looked at her like she had never seen Catra before in her life. “ _Excuse_ me? I’m waiting for Master Micah,” She said indignantly. “He told me to meet him here.”

Catra faltered.

 _Spend too long inside and you risk forgetting you’re in a portal at all…_ Hordaks words rang through Catras' head grimly.

Had it finally been too long? Was it because she had taken off on her own and without another presence to ground her lost her grip on reality? Or was whatever was wrong with the portal causing this to happening now? Was Catra going to forget next?

“Angella,” Catra said slowly, evenly, trying not to let alarm seep through into her tone. “We’re in a portal, remember? This isn’t Mystacor, this isn’t real…”

Angella stared at her blankly. “No, I just- I just met with him yesterday.” She shook her head. “He said he would be here,” She said, but she suddenly didn’t sound so sure.

“Micah isn’t here, he’s outside of _this portal_ ,” Catra insisted. “You haven’t seen him in sixteen years but he’s back home in Brightmoon, remember?”

Understanding dawned on Angellas face, her eyes became distant, fixed on some invisible horizon. “Sixteen years,” She mused hollowly. “I miss him…”

“You can see him if you _come with me_!” Catra urged, starting to bounce anxiously on the balls of her feet as the seconds dragged on and Angella _didn’t move_.

“He was so good, so much better than me,” She kept on as if Catra hadn’t spoken, in an almost trance-like state. “It should have been me… if I hadn’t been so afraid. The kingdom would have been better off, with him as its leader, Glimmer…” Her breath caught on the name. “Glimmer would have been better off too…”

Catra bristled, forgetting what was happening to the portal for a moment. “You can’t seriously believe that?” She cried. “You think the kingdom would have been better off? People _still_ talk about you, everywhere you go in Brightmoon there’s people whispering your name, and your mural - I don’t know _shit_ about art but it’s the most beautiful piece I’ve ever seen so they must have put a lot of work into it, do you think they would do that for a queen they didn’t _like_?”

Angellas gaze focused, looking to Catra with surprise.

“And Glimmer, I’m- I’m _jealous_ of her!” She admitted, closing her eyes as she practically spit the words. “You’re amazing! You’re nice, and you obviously care about her and- and you said that Bow made her _happy_ , like that _matters_ to you? You want her to be _happy_ , and you just about _lost it_ when you heard crying and thought she was hurt. Shadow Weaver probably would have just kept going, if she wasn’t the one _making_ us cry!” She shouted.

She was breathing hard when she looked back to Angella. “I didn’t know what a mom was supposed to be like, I thought- I thought just someone who didn’t hate your guts sounded good! But you _love_ Glimmer, and I think she’s _so_ lucky, and I want to get you back to her, she deserves to have you in her life so don’t-” She huffed, running out of steam for her rant. “Don’t you dare say she would have been better off without you...”

Angella stood slowly, with all the grace and majesty of a queen rising from her throne.

She laid a hand on Catra’s shoulder, stepping close.

“Thank you,” Angella said. “When we get back I hope we can spend more time together, Catra, and I can continue to show you what a mother is supposed to be.”

Catra had to swallow hard around a lump in her throat, blinking back the wetness that suddenly filled her eyes. “So, are we going?”

“I am ready to go _home_ ,” Angella said.

Catra grinned and turned to go, just in time to hear the telltale ring of Glimmer teleporting and see the sparkle of light right before she appeared before them.

* * *

Glimmer hadn’t known what kind of setting she would find herself in when she teleported, she had just focused on “Catra” and hoped it would take her directly to her, she certainly hadn’t expected to teleport into a perfect mock up of Mystacor, right in front of Catra - with her moms hand on her shoulder.

“Glimmer?!” Catra yelped.

Glimmer barely heard her. “Mom!” She cried. 

Angella was staring at her, her mouth hanging open just slightly and her eyes brimming with tears, and after nearly two years Glimmer wanted nothing more then to run into her arms right then and there and be held like a little kid until she was sure her mom was real, that this wasn’t a dream like the many she had had since losing her, or another strange portal illusion like the very one they had lost her in.

But Mystacor was rumbling and shaking around them, buildings beginning to disappear in beams of light and the sky turning white as a sheet. There wasn’t time for a reunion.

“Come on!” Glimmer shouted, running forward to grab both their hands and teleport them all out just as quickly as she had teleported in.

They were flung out of the portal, back into the lab in Dryl. They tumbled to the floor just in time for Adora to give a final cry of exertion before collapsing, her She-Ra form fading away along with the glowing portal she had held.

“Adora!” Catra was up, rushing to her girlfriend's side to make sure she was okay.

Next to Glimmer, where they had landed sprawled on the dirty lab floor, Angella pushed herself into a sitting position, just in time for Glimmer to throw her arms around her and begin openly weeping.

Glimmer felt Angella curl around her, her cheek pressed to the top of Glimmers head and her wings encircling them both as her arms pulled her closer. Glimmer's hands gripped the fabric of the cape at her back, like she could keep her there in reality if she held tight enough. When her mom said her name Glimmer wanted to memorize the way it sounded in her voice.

A million things she wanted to say ran through her mind: I love yous, and tales of what she had missed, and apologies - so many apologies, for the things she said the last time they spoke, for the things she _did_ , for what came after that Glimmer was to blame for, for never appreciating her until she wasn’t there. She didn’t know where to start, or if she would ever be able to get it all out when it felt like _so much_.

Her mom pulled her face out from her shoulder and gently cupped it between her gloved hands, her thumbs brushing away tears from her cheeks even as Glimmer started to cry harder while she looked at her mom after having believed she never would again.

“Mom, I love- love you and I’m so _s-sorry_ ,” Glimmer managed to say between hiccups. “And if you want to ground me for the next ten years I under- understand and I’ll stay in Brightmoon and I won’t complain because I deserve it and-”

“Why would I punish you when, from everything I’ve heard, I should be so incredibly _proud_?” Angella interrupted. She lifted her chin, a twinkle in her eye. “And even if I wanted to, I don’t believe I can ground the queen.”

Glimmer waited for Angella to laugh or for someone to yell ‘sike’ but her mom just kept smiling tenderly at her. _The queen_. Her mom had called _her_ queen.

“Then I ground myself!” She wailed finally, throwing herself back into her mom's arms as she chuckled.

“Angie?”

Angellas head whipped around to the source of the voice. “Micah,” She breathed as he crossed the room to kneel beside them.

Glimmer, wiping her tears with the heel of her hand, backed out of her mom's lap to give them space as she watched in wonder a scene she hadn’t believed she would ever get to see - her mom and dad _together_.

Angella stared at him in disbelief, a shaking hand coming up to caress his cheek, running over his slightly scruffy beard and lingering on a streak of grey in the otherwise dark hair.

“Does it look bad?” He asked. “Casta said it looked roguishly handsome...”

“Did she?” She snorted, eyebrows raised. “No, it’s very distinguished,” She promised.

He laughed, and she broke into a smile, joining him with her own giggles, their eyes never leaving each others. They had begun to drift closer since Micah sat, leaning in as if drawn together until they were only inches apart.

“You’re here,” Angella whispered reverently. “Catra said- but I couldn’t…”

“I’m here,” Micah agreed, his hand coming up to take hers from his face and hold it between them. “I’m sorry I was gone, I’m sorry I missed- I missed _everything_ . I missed Glimmer growing up, I missed _you_ \- I thought- I thought I would never see you again, I got home too _late_ and you were-” He squeezed his eyes shut, casting his face downwards as he took a shaking breath.

Angella pressed her forehead to his, visibly squeezing his hand in hers. “I know, my love,” She said. “I missed you too, so much. Every day, every _second_.”

Micah opened his eyes to hers, before they both seemed to move on some unspoken cue, finally wrapping their arms around each other and coming together until there wasn’t a space between them.

Glimmer smiled softly.

Then she heard her dad ask, “I know it’s been a while, but can I kiss you?”

“You’d better,” Came her mom's reply.

Glimmer's smile became a grimace and she turned her attention to Bow, waiting patiently on the other side of the lab.

Catra couldn’t have moved even if she wanted to, with Adora leaning heavily on her side as she recovered from the strain of holding open the portal, and Melog laying across her legs after licking every inch of her face upon her return. She was content to stay there on the floor anyway, watching the happy scene unfold before her.

“How did it go?” Adora asked.

“I think I have a lot to talk about with Perfuma next week,” Catra deadpanned darkly. Adora frowned and tried to shift to support herself. Catra rolled her eyes and pulled her back before she got far, “It was fine, I just… found out some stuff and… realized some stuff. I’m okay.” She smirked as she watched Glimmer dramatically collapse into Angellas arms and her mom laughed. “She’s pretty cool, Angella.”

“Yeah, she is. I’m really happy she’s back…” She looked to Catra with a quiet awe. “That _you_ brought her back.”

“And the mission was only a little bit of a disaster-”

Adora cut her off with a kiss, deep and lingering, leaving Catra breathless but confused, only becoming more so by the intensity in Adoras eyes when they pulled away. 

“You keep amazing me,” She said, shaking her head.

“Don’t get all mushy on me, Princess,” Catra mumbled. 

She noticed Glimmer approaching, Bow a step behind her. She was about to stand to greet them when Glimmer dropped to her knees in front of them and threw her arms around Catras shoulders.

“Thank you,” She said simply but with such force Catra knew the depth of the gratitude behind the words.

Catra patted her back. “Don’t mention it,” She said. Glimmer let go and together they rose, Catra helping Adora to her feet while Melog wound around her legs. “I only did it because you’re no fun to drag when you’re being all mopey about your mom.”

“Aww, I think you did it because you secretly have a _really big_ heart,” Glimmer said with a cloying smile. “And you care about me _so much_ -”

“Don’t bet on it,” Catra shot back. She nodded over Glimmer's shoulder as finally Micah and Angella made their way over to the group.

“Bow!” Angella exclaimed, eagerly pulling the boy into a hug.

“Your majesty,” Bow beamed, returning the embrace.

“I believe that title belongs to my daughter now,” Angella dismissed, holding him out at arms length. “Oh, look at your earring!”

“Here we go,” Glimmer mumbled without any real annoyance.

“Wait until you see what Bow gave her,” Micah chimed in.

Voices mingled and laughter filled the room as the reunion continued on for some time, eventually moving to Brightmoon to keep going into the night. Stories were swapped along with reminiscence and plenty of hugs and easy affection. Micah was never not touching some part of Angella, and Glimmer didn’t leave her mom's side. Bow got misty eyed several times throughout the evening, and Adora was at ease in a way she was only around very few people.

And Catra never felt out of place, never felt like she shouldn’t have been there. Never felt unwanted in the group.

And when Angella and Micah headed off to bed, Angella giving both Glimmer and Catra a kiss on the forehead, Catra knew she had meant it when she promised to show her what a mother was supposed to be.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my tumblr: bookwormpride for my ramblings while writing this fic and general she ra content


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